


Danganronpa: Death in Paradise

by keyofdestiny



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Multi, ill put more tags eventually it's 4 am, rip to my ocs but im different
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:00:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22491691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keyofdestiny/pseuds/keyofdestiny
Summary: Ace Marin wakes up in an apartment that's not his own. As he explores, he learns he no longer at Hope's Peak, or anywhere near it. Panic sets in as he and the 17 other people around him find out exactly what's going on: another killing game.
Kudos: 1





	1. New Faces, New Places

**Author's Note:**

> "Wow Simon where have you been?" Roleplaying and forgetting to ever write any of my Kingdom Hearts fics. :,) 
> 
> I have a lotta OCs that I wanted to finally, finally use in something on this website, so here we are gamers.

_Beep… Beep… Beep..._

“Hgn…”

That alarm catches me off guard. I don’t remember setting one last night, but I guess I must have forgotten to turn off my usual one. Letting out a groan as I opened my eyes, I reach over to turn my phone on silent, only to find a proper clock in its place. “Wha…” 

Maybe my partner pulling a fast one on me. I sigh, pulling myself to sit up. I take a moment to look around the room to see if she had moved anything else, only to take notice that this definitely was not our room.

I didn’t stay with anyone last night, and I wasn’t staying in my dorm at Hope’s Peak anymore, so where-

 _“Looks like everyone’s finally awake!”_ came an annoyingly high pitched voice from over a loudspeaker. _“Pull yourselves out of your rooms and come to the lake outside!”_

_What the hell?_

I pull myself up from the bed, noticing a pair of black Vans in the corner. I take a moment to slip them on before heading out into the hallway. 

The place I woke up in seems like… an apartment? There’s a room next to mine as well as a bathroom across the hall. The door to the second bedroom has already been opened, so I assume the second person here has already left for the lake. I take a moment to snoop a bit, finding that the other bedroom was practically the same as mine, save for the purple comforter folded neatly at the foot of the bed. I take a moment to check out the bathroom as well, noticing nothing of interest, before heading back into the hallway and going down the nearby stairwell.

Arriving downstairs, I notice a girl wandering around. She looks to be no taller than 5’2”, and her hair is in a half up, half down style, with two buns at the top of her head. I don’t want to startle her, but… “Excuse me?”

She jumps, turning on her heel to face me. “Who… who are you?”

“I’m Ace Marin,” I reply almost a little too quickly. “I’m a student from Hope’s Peak Academy, Class 83-A. I’m the Ultimate Artist.”

That seems to catch her attention. I take a moment to breathe before asking my own questions. “What are you doing here? Who are you?”

“I don’t know why I’m here,” the girl replies coldly. “And I feel no need to tell you my name.” 

_This is going to be a long day._ “That’s fine… um, are you heading to the lake? Maybe we could go together?”

She seems hesitant, though she ultimately shakes her head. “I don’t know what sort of trap this is, so I’d rather keep my distance. I’ll be out momentarily.” 

I do my best to muster a smile as I give a nod. “Alright, be safe!” 

She says nothing more, going back to looking around the kitchen instead. She’ll be fun to talk to, I’m sure. I let my smile fall, heading for the door and opening it. I shield my eyes from the sun as it hits my face, stepping outside of the apartment. It’s hotter than usual, and there’s a lot of different voices that I can hear in the distance. Just how many people are around here?

After my eyes finally adjust to the light, I lower my hand. This definitely isn’t the Hope’s Peak campus. There’s sand everywhere I look, a road leading into what looks like a small town, eight other apartments,a large body of water surrounded by palm trees, and large building just a bit further up from there. Is this an oasis? No… it can’t be, there’s none of those in Japan. … Are there?

I shake my head, trying to think of where exactly I could be. First, there would be no scheduled field trips to the desert of all places. Second, just who the hell brought us here, if not a teacher? I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. This was too much to make sense of right now. 

I take a moment to gather my thoughts, looking out to the water nearby. That’s where we were told to meet, right? Maybe someone out there has the answers to all of this. I take a deep breath to try and calm my anxieties before heading towards the lake.

To my surprise, there’s a few familiar faces in the crowd. My best friend is the first person I notice. Before I can even call out to him, he’s already waving me over. “Ace!”

I rush over to him, noticing the rest of our friends crowded around him. 

“Hey, Isei,” I greet quickly. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Wish we knew.” a sigh escapes from his lips. “Are you okay?”

I nod in response. “Is our whole class here, or something? I mean, I don’t know the girl in my apartment, but if she’s in 83-B, it makes sense.”

“Yeah, A and B,” Isei replies, gesturing to the others with him. “Ai’s here, and she’s in B.”

I look behind him, taking note of the others. “So… I wonder why we’re here?”

“Dunno, but I wanna ask around and figure out who everyone is before anything else. Wanna join me?”

“Sure!” I chirp. “You first. Name, talent and class?”

Isei looks at me, dumbfounded. “You’re gonna do this to _everyone_ , huh?” he sighs, shaking his head with a fond smile. “Fine. Isei Kobayashi, Ultimate Hacker. Class 83-A.”

“Wow, you actually know how to be fun!” I laugh, turning to our main friend group. “Aaaand your names and talents?”

After a moment of staring at me, the girl Isei pointed out earlier speaks up. “I’m Ai Kobayashi, silly! I’m the Ultimate Beta Tester! I’m in Class 83-B, the superior class!”

“Oh, me next, me next!” a boy with bright blonde hair pipes up. “Yukio Watanabe, Ultimate Game Designer! Class 83-A! Thought you’d know that after seven years, Ace!”

So, yeah, I knew these people like I knew the back of my hand, but that didn’t stop this from being fun for me. It gives me a sense of security, somehow. I turn to a tall boy with dirty blonde hair, grinning at him. “So?”

“You know who I am,” he replies coldly. 

“No fun, Taka!” Yukio says with a pout. “C’mon, please?”

The boy sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Akuhei Takahashi. Ultimate Casino Owner. Class 83-A.”

“Thank you, Aku.” Isei says with a small smile, earning one back from Akuhei. “Are you guys tagging along with Ace and I?”

“Yuki and I will stick around here!” Ai chirped. “Wanna stay with us, Takahashi?”

“Sure. You two need constant supervision, anyways.” 

I couldn’t help but laugh at Yukio’s and Ai’s overexaggerated reactions to that comment. I only calmed myself from my laughter as Isei turned to me. “Where to next?” he asked.

I look around the oasis, noticing the girl that was in the same apartment as me in a small group a little ways away. I point to them. “That group?”

“Good with me.” Isei shrugs, leading me over to them.

As we arrive, the conversation they were having pauses. “Hello! Can we help you?” a girl with red hair asks. 

“Yeah, actually. Would we be able to ask your names, talents and class?” Isei asks, a small smile on his face.

“Oh, sure!” the girl chirps. “Kita Arisu, the Ultimate Florist! I’m in Class 83-B.” she pauses. “You’re Isei, right? Vi says you two have a couple of extra curriculars together!”

“Ah, yeah… that’s me. Ace is also in one with us, I think. He doesn’t pay much attention during it, though.”

“Wha- hey! I pay plenty of attention.” I grumble, looking to the girl with purple hair. _Have_ I seen her around? 

I guess she caught me staring, judging by the glare I’m receiving. Yikes. “... Violetta Gainsborough. Ultimate Assassin. Class 83-B. I thought I recognized you from somewhere after you left.”

Oh. She was _scary_ scary. Noted. “N… Nice to meet you!” 

Isei snickers, patting my back as he turned to the last two people in the group. “And you two?”

“Oh, apologies!” a girl with shoulder-length brown hair says sheepishly. “I’m Okada Ko, I’m the Ultimate DJ! Also Class 83-B!”

“And I’m Koga Masumi, the Ultimate Confectioner… Oh, um, Class 83-A...” a person with light blue hair said quietly.

I knew Koga somewhat well, as they were in the same class as Isei and I. “It’s nice to see you, Koga.” I say with a small smile. 

“You too, Ace…” they reply.

I give a small smile before something clicks in my head. “Oh, I forgot! I didn’t properly introduce myself.” I rub the back of my neck. “I’m Ace Marin, the Ultimate Artist! Class 83-A!”

“And I’m Isei Kobayashi, the Ultimate Hacker. Same Class as Ace and Koga.”

“Nice to properly meet you both! We’re gonna look around the apartments a bit, but we’ll see you two in a bit!” Kita says with a bright smile.

Isei gives a smile in return before turning to me. “There’s a group over near the road. Wanna head there?”

“Yep, yep!” I offer Isei my hand, waiting for him to take it before leading him to the next group.

There’s two more people from our class, as well as a girl from Class B, checking out their surroundings when we arrive, a short girl with shoulder-length red hair waving us over. “Aaaace! Iseeeeei!” 

“Hey, Nii!” I call out. Ignoring Isei’s protests, I run over to the group. “Heya! We’re askin’ names, talents and classes of everyone.”

“You know us though?” a boy with light brown hair raises an eyebrow. “Why-”

“Ace being Ace.” Isei jokes, smiling smuggly. “So?”

“Weeeeeeell! I’m Nii Yuichi, Ultimate Volleyball Player! Class 83-A!” she says enthusiastically, striking a pose. “How was that?”

“Amazing!” I say with a laugh, turning to the other two. “C’mon, don’t be sourpusses!” 

The boy sighs, shaking his head. “Seto Katsu, Ultimate Figure Skater. Class 83-A. Honestly, Ace, you know us, this seems poi--”

The last of the group, a girl with red hair pulled into braids, cuts Seto off. “Aika is Aika! Aika’s the Ultimate Mathematician! Aika is in Class 83-B!” 

“Nice to re-meet you three.” I grin. “You guys heading back to the lake soon?”

“Mhm!” Aika replies. “Aika wanted to look over here, but the road to the town is blocked off right now… Aika thinks she’ll go there when there’s not a fence up and explore!” 

“Mind if I join you when you do?” I ask softly. Aika was the only friend besides Ai that I had in Class B, and I wouldn’t pass up any chance to hang out with her.

“Not at all! Aika would be delighted to have Ace join her!”

“Cool! I’ll come find you later!” I give a smile to her before turning to Nii and Seto. “You two doing okay?”

Nii nods. “I’m a little scared, but… I think once we find out what’s going on, I’ll be okay.” she gives a smile. “Besides, I can take on whatever this place throws at us! You can count on me!”

“Thanks, Nii!” I chirp, my voice being drowned out as the loudspeaker came on again.

_“Everyone get to the lake in five minutes! You’ll have plenty of time to dilly-dally later! Move it!”_

Nii deflates, crossing her arms. “Fiiiine, Mr. Fussypants.” she grumbles. “We’ll see you guys there?”

Isei nods. “Yeah. You sticking around here for a minute?”

“Aika looks curious about that sign,” she points to where Aika’s now standing. “I’m gonna give it a read. I’ll let you know if there’s anything interesting.”

“Cool.” Isei smiles. “We’ll see you three in a few, then.” he offers his hand to me, and I take no time grabbing it.

“Let’s go.”

We wave to the group before heading back towards the lake. I look around, trying to figure out who we still needed to talk to. If the entirety of Class 83 was here, then that meant we were still missing six people… That’s four from Class B, and two from Class A… Maybe we could catch them after whatever was going on at the lake. Yeah. That’s the new plan, makes life easier, too.

“Using your brain for once?”

“Oh, haha, very funny.” I roll my eyes, a fond smile on my face. “Just for that, I’m making you interact with more people later!”

“Oh, God no.” Isei groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That was _enough_ for today.”

I shrug. “Guess you should’ve been nice to me!”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.” he says with a quiet laugh. “Pay me back with food and we’re even.”

“Fiiiiiine.” I grin, letting go of Isei’s hand as we approach the meeting point. 

A pillar now stands in the middle of the water, looking tall enough to just be able to look over the whole lake. When did that get there? 

_“Finally everyone’s here, sheesh! You made me wait long enough!”_ There’s that voice again… who the hell could it belong to?

My question was answered no more than ten seconds later as an animatronic bear hopped up on to the pillar. _"Heeeeeello everybody! Welcome to your fabulous school trip to Hope’s Peaks very own oasis paradise! I am your headmaster, Monokuma! Oh, if you have questions, I ain’t answering 'em! Save 'em for some other time or I'll leave this pillar and bop ya on the head with a hammer! At this oasis, you have access to four main areas! The apartments surrounding this lake hold the rooms you'll be sleeping in! You have one roommate, so get used to seeing them everyday! Downstairs, you have a kitchen with every appliance you could think of, a living room with a television and some other fun nick-nacks! All shows are recorded as they come out, so you’ll have plenty to watch; don’t think you’re getting the news, though! Upstairs, there are two bedrooms and a bathroom, nothing super fancy. Nearby, there’s a little town that will become accessible after this announcement!”_

I hear a happy noise come from Aika as the bear says that. I smile at her before turning my attention back to the pillar.

 _“In the town, there’s a lot of different shops, and even an arcade! Don’t say we aren’t treating you right here, we’ve got everything you could ever need! There’s also a restaurant, where we’ll be holding weekly feasts for all of you! Tonight will be the very first one. Further up the lake is a mall! There’s more shops to be found there, as well as a gym and library! The fourth area is currently off limits, but you’ll find out what that place is for soon enough!_ _Now for the fun part, the way you can leave this paradise! Dunno why you'd ever wanna leave, but you gotta kill one of your classmates to "graduate" and get a jet ride outta here! Once three people find the body, you'll have a set amount of time to investigate the murder and find all of the evidence before the class trial begins! In the class trial, which takes place in the fourth area I was talking about, you’ll debate with each other until you come to a conclusion of who the killer is! I feel like I’ve explained enough, the rest is in the rules on your Monopads which can be found back in your apartments! Upupupu, enjoy your stay, and happy killing!”_

“Wha… WHAT?!” A girl shouts from the front. “That’s some bullshit if I’ve ever heard any!” 

“D… did he say… kill someone…?” Kita asks, falling to her knees. “This… this is a joke, right? We aren’t murderers…”

“Ai! Ai, where are you?” I hear Isei call from beside me, looking for his sister in the crowd. I look up, noticing Akuhei waving at us. As soon as Isei sees that, he’s dragging me to where our friend group stands. Ai is on the ground with her knees pulled to her chest, her headphones covering her ears. 

Isei crouches down, placing a hand on his sister’s shoulder. She clings to him, a sob escaping her. “We… we have to kill each other… I’m scared...” she mutters.

“Shh, hey… it’s gonna be okay… we’re gonna be okay…” Isei says in a hushed tone, picking Ai up. “I’m gonna take her to the apartment I’m staying in. I’ll… I’ll catch up with you guys at dinner.” 

We… we have to kill each other? No, that can’t be right… We all must have heard that wrong! Everything’s fine! Right?

My head is spinning. This can’t be real. It has to be some messed up dream. I pinch myself, hoping for nothing more than to wake up. Nothing changes, not the scenery, not the people around me, not the screwed up rules… I fall to my knees, gripping my hair. This isn’t real. This isn't real. This isn’t real. This… isn’t… real… 

It’s too late when I realized my breathing is way too fast. All I can feel is my senses fading until I’m out cold. 

I don’t know when I finally come to, but as I open my eyes, Akuhei and Yukio are looking at me, the latter pulling me into a tight hug. “Ace! Oh my God, are you okay?!”

“I’m… I’m fine.” I give Yukio a quick hug back before pulling myself to sit up, rubbing my eyes. “What… what happened?”

“You passed out,” Akuhei replies, handing me a bottle of water. “Your roommate and I carried you back here. Are you alright?”

I open the bottle, taking a few sips of water before nodding. “Yeah… I… that wasn’t real, was it?”

“I’m afraid it is.” he mumbles, looking down. 

“... How long was I out? What time is it?” I ask, trying to avoid the situation at hand.

“About three and a half hours…” Yukio mumbles, frowning at me. “It’s twenty minutes past nine, the “feast” that bear talked about started then…”

I look down at the bottle in my hand, sighing deeply. “We… we should probably go to it.”

“Are you feeling alright enough to?” Akuhei asks softly. “We can just make something here-”

“No. I… I would rather go. I want to make sure everyone else is okay.” I do my best to muster a smile. “I need some good food, anyways…”

Akuhei nods. “Alright… Go ahead and get ready, then. Yukio and I will be downstairs.”

I give a nod in response, waiting for the two of them to leave before pulling myself out of bed. So this is my life for who knows how long… Fun. I shake my head, taking a deep breath before slipping on my Vans for the second time today, heading into the hallway. I turn to the left, stopping at Violetta’s door. After a moment of hesitation, I give a light knock. 

“Come in.”

I open the door slowly, waving to her. “Hey.”

“Oh, you’re awake.” she hums. 

“Yeah… Akuhei said you helped carry me here?”

Violetta nods. “It was nothing.” she shrugs. “Are you all heading to dinner?”

“Yep! Wanna join us?”

She takes a moment to think before getting up from her bed. “Sure, why not? Being in a group might be safer, after all…”

I sigh, nodding my head. “Yeah, seriously…” I look down. “Um… shall we?

Violetta hums. “We shall.”

The walk into town is mostly silent, with the occasional, “Whoa, look at that building!” from Yukio. As we entered the restaurant, everyone’s heads turned to the door. I give a little wave, shuffling over to an open table with six others and taking a seat. 

“How are you feeling?” a girl with pink hair pulled into a ponytail asks from across the table. “We all saw you faint…”

“I’m okay.” I promise, taking a bit of the food on the table. 

“Just take care of yourself,” she replies. 

“I will, Suzume, don’t worry.” I smile. “So… I did this earlier, and you six are the last ones I have yet to ask…”

“Oh?” a boy with dark brown hair raises an eyebrow. 

“Name, talent, and class?”

Suzume is the first to speak up. “Suzume Yoshiro, but you can call me Yuna! I’m the Ultimate Idol! Class 83-A!” she holds up a peace sign.

“So extra, Suzu,” a person with mint green hair rolls their eyes. “I’m Ichika Kazuko, Ultimate E-Sports Gamer. Class 83-B. Thought you’d remember that after I kicked your ass in Wii Sports, Ace.” 

I rub the back of my neck. “We don’t talk about that.”

That earns a laugh from the boy with brown hair. “Be nice, Ichi.” he shakes his head. “I’m Kisaragi Shinobu, the Ultimate Actor! I’m in Class 83-B, nice to meet you!” he holds out his hand.

I give it a shake as a blonde boy speaks up. “I’m Asai Kurou, the Ultimate Student Council President… 83-B Pleasure to meet you…”

“C’mon, Sai! You gotta be peppier than that!” Suzume huffs. “Amaya, you try!”

A girl with dirty blonde hair down to her shoulders scoffs. “Amaya Cunovinda, Ultimate Forensic Scientist. Class 83-A.”

Someone didn’t enjoy introductions, sheesh… I sigh, looking to the last boy at the table. He looked up at me, rubbing the back of his neck. “Satoru Amari, Ultimate Fantasy Novelist… Also 38-B...” he mumbles.

“Nice to meet all of you!” I chirp. “I’m Ace Marin, the Ultimate Artist.” I hum, taking a bite of my food. “So, this is gonna be a weekly thing…?”

“That’s what the bear said. He also said it’s mandatory to come unless you’re dead…” Asai said weakly, rubbing his arm. “I… I guess we’ll at least get a head count easily because of this…?”

“I guess so,” Amaya replied with a deep sigh. “This has to be a prank, though.”

_“It absolutely is not!”_

“Oh, c’mon!” Nii whined. “Not him again!”

_“Yes, me again! Upupupu! I hope everyone’s enjoying their dinner! Tonight’s a little late because someone had to go and pass out on us, but that’s no worry now!”_

“Thanks for the callout…” I mutter.

_“Now, in twenty minutes, the restaurant and all shops except for the ones in the mall will be closing! Curfew around here is ten PM sharp! You don’t need to be in your apartments by ten, but if I catch any of you sleeping anywhere but an apartment, you’ll be killed on the spot by me! Now finish up your dinner, or ask for a to-go box and get outta here!”_

As the loudspeaker shuts off, everyone starts finishing their food. I look down at my plate, still full, and ask one of the mini-Monokuma’s running around for a to-go box. After packing away my food, I stand up, walking over to the table where my friends were gathered. “Hey, Ai, you doing okay?”

 _Better._ she signs to me, a small smile on her face. _Thanks for asking._

“For sure.” I smile back. 

“How are _you_ doing, though?” Isei asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’m okay. I mean, I definitely won’t be getting sleep tonight, but that’s fine.” I shrug. “I can see if there’s a sketchbook in my room or something.”

“Just be safe.” Akuhei says sternly. 

“Whatever you say, Dad,” I reply with a chuckle. “Are you all heading back to the apartments in a few?”

“Yeah, I wanna get some sleep, and so does my roommate.” Akuhei hums. “I don’t want to wake her by coming in late, so I’m turning in early.”

“Fair.” I hum, tapping my fingers against the to-go box. “I’ll wait til you guys are done and walk back with you.” 

It’s only a few more minutes before the entire group is done eating. Yukio and Ai both get to-go boxes, and once they’re packed up, the five of us head out of the restaurant. 

“Anyone wanna explore with me tomorrow?” I ask after a few minutes. 

“Oh, sure!” Yukio says with a bright smile. “Any of you wanna tag along?” he asks, turning around so he was walking backwards.

 _I’m gonna be exploring with my roommate, but thank you for offering!_ Ai signs. 

“I think Aku and I are going to explore on our own as well, but we can join you two for lunch, if you’d like?” Isei hums.

“Sure, sounds great!” I chirp, grinning at everyone. Maybe, just maybe, this was gonna be okay. Nobody in Class 83 would ever kill someone, we were all gonna be safe! The police would find us in no time, everything was going to go smoothly.

At least… I hope so.

As we reach the apartments, I say my goodbyes to everyone, heading up to my room almost immediately. I sit down at the desk in the corner of the room, looking through the drawers. After a bit of digging, I find a sketchbook and some drawing materials, pulling them out with a content sigh. “Alright, let’s get to it…”

The loudspeaker comes on a few minutes later.

_"It is now 10pm. As such, it is officially night time. Soon the doors to the shops and restaurant in town will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then... Sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite..."_

I already know that I’m not getting sleep until late into the night. I open the to-go box, taking a few bites of food before focusing on the sketchbook and getting to work. This was going to be a long night, but hopefully the next day will bring good things to all of us. That’s all I can hope for right now.

Finally, at around 3 AM, I put the sketchbook away. I take a moment to clean up before heading to the closet across the room. I pull out a simple pair of black sweatpants and a blue t-shirt, quickly changing into them before finally settling in my bed. I pray that this is nothing more than a bad dream as I close my eyes, drifting to sleep soon after.


	2. Chapter 1, Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's motive time! Also more exploration.
> 
> I'm great at these.

_"Gooooood morning, everyone! The time is now 7 AM and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Breakfast is being served at the restaurant, and all the shops in town are now open! Opening today in the mall are stores relating to your talents, so be sure to check those out! Every time you're successful in a class trial, new stores will be opening. If you check your Monopads, you'll see a new app, that's for your banking! Every week, I'll give you all 275 Monocoins that you can spend however you please, they'll all be on a debit card that you can pick up from the bank in town. Oh, and please be at the lake by 8 AM, I’ve got somethin’ super fun to tell y'all about! That's all for this morning, happy killing! Upupupu!"_

I pull my covers off of me, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I sit up. My alarm clock had gone off about five minutes before the morning announcement; they really didn’t want anyone missing that, did they? Sighing, I rub my eyes once more, hoping that would somehow wake me up. Late nights in this place were going to be the death of me, it seemed.

After a bit of debating whether or not I wanted to go have breakfast with my friends, I finally pull myself out of bed. I’m still groggy, but I know getting up is going to be better than sleeping the entire day away. I open the door to my room, stepping out into the hallway. I notice the bathroom light is on, and that the door has been left wide open. “Violetta?” 

“Good morning,” she replies, peeking her head out of the bathroom. 

“Morning. Mind if I brush my teeth real quick?”

She shakes her head, turning back towards the mirror. I give her a small smile, walking over to the other sink. It’s silent as I brush my teeth, but as soon as I rinse my mouth, Violetta speaks up. “Are you going to breakfast?”

“Yeah, probably. Are you?”

She shrugs, grabbing an elastic hairband from the counter, starting to tie part of her hair into a bun. “I might go into town and see if one of the shops has any food I like, but I don’t think I’ll be going to the restaurant.” she hums, pausing to think for a moment. “Though, I might join you for the walk down there, if that’s quite alright?”

“Yeah, for sure!” I chirp, grabbing a hairbrush and quickly making my hair look like less of a rats nest. “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

“I’ll be waiting downstairs,” Violetta replies, retreating from the bathroom. I wait for a moment before stepping out as well, heading back into my room. 

I look around for a moment, my eyes falling on my closet. Clothes. I should actually change out of my pajamas. I walk over, opening the door and grabbing a white button up, blue sweater vest, and a pair of black skinny jeans. I’m dressed in no time, picking up my Vans from where they lie in the corner of the room. I take a moment to slip them on before my eyes fall on my end table. Right, my Monopad, I totally forgot about that. I quickly grab it before heading downstairs, looking at whatever Violetta has pulled up on the television. “Is that Bob Ross?”

She jumps when she hears my voice, quickly shutting the program off. “Don’t startle me.” she huffs, getting up from the couch. “Are you ready to go?”

I nod, heading for the door. I hold it open, waiting for her to step outside before doing the same. “Do we have keys or anything?”

Violetta shakes her head. “I don't believe so. I think we just lock it from the inside at night and hope for the best."

"That sounds dangerous." I mumble. 

"... This whole place is dangerous, though? Ace, we were told we have to kill-"

"I know, I know." I let out a deep sigh, playing with the cuffs of my sleeves. "I just… I don't want to think about it right now. I know it might happen, but I have faith in our classmates." I do my best to force a smile, hoping to seem a little less worried than I actually was. 

Though, by the look on her face, I can tell Violetta isn't buying it. "You don’t need to act so tough. I get it, you want to trust everyone, but with the only options being stay here or kill someone to try and escape… I wouldn't put it past someone."

I look down, biting my lower lip. "I wouldn't either…" I admit quietly, rubbing my arm. "But I also don't want to lose hope if I can avoid it."

"Fair." Violetta hums, tapping her fingers against her thigh. "Well… hopefully nothing happens, right? I'm sure there's a way out besides killing our classmates. There has to be."

"Yeah… yeah! And I'm sure we'll all figure it out together." I say, giving her a bright smile. 

"You're very chipper, aren't you?" She asks, cracking a smile. "You might just be someone we look to for guidance in the future."

"I'm always open to that. I hope while we're trapped here, I can at least be a bit of hope to everyone."

"... You're literally a Disney prince. That's the conclusion I've come to."

"I mean, my girlfriend reminds me of a prin-"

"Please don't get sappy." Violetta groans. 

“Sappy is my middle name, Vi.” I joke. “Oh, is it okay if I call you that?”

“Absolutely not,” she replies in a harsh tone. 

I tap my chin. “Is there anything I can call you as a nickname?”

“Viola is fine.”

I crack a smile. “Noted.”

Violetta hums, looking at the ground. “... So, 83-A. What’s it like?”

“Hectic.” I chuckle. “Everyone’s trying to keep up their grades while also focusing on class activities. It’s such a mess... What about 83-B?”

“Chaotic,” Violetta replies with a roll of her eyes. “Ichika _and_ Ai are in that class. There’s no stopping the chaos.”

I can’t help but laugh at that, a small smile on my face. “Seems like you guys have a lot of fun.”

“Sometimes, yes. We’re always busy with class activities, but… it’s still a good time.” she shrugs. 

“Hope’s Peak isn’t as bad I thought I would have been.” I comment. “I thought it was going to be more work-heavy than it really is.”

“They treat us well, and that’s how we excel in life,” Violetta replies, going quiet for a moment. “... Except for this.”

“... This couldn’t have been Hope’s Peak. It doesn’t seem like something they’d do.”

“Unless someone corrupt was behind the field trips this year.”

“We can’t rule that out, but… I can’t help but feel like this was planned by someone outside of the field trip committee.” 

“Somehow… that feels more probable.” Violetta sighs. “No matter who pulled this, I hope they’ll be stopped before something can happen to anyone else attending Hope’s Peak.”

“I’m sure that everything will be fine.” I give a reassuring smile, looking ahead. “Looks like we’re in town. Are you still planning to go to the store?”

Violetta stops walking, taking a moment to think. “Yes. I’ll see you at eight for the announcement. Have a good breakfast.” 

“Have fun shopping,” I reply with a hum, waving to Violetta before parting ways with her. I take a deep breath, making my way to the restaurant. 

As I arrive, I look around to see if my friends are here. I spot Ai, Yukio and Isei sitting at a table. “Morning.”

“Morning!” Ai chirps, smiling brightly at me. 

Isei greets me with a small smile, doing a “come here” motion moments later. “Sit down, loser.”

I roll my eyes, sitting next to him. “Sure thing, Lord Dumbass. Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He’s still in his apartment. Kita said Akuhei was still asleep when she left this morning.” Isei shrugs, sliding his leftover pancakes to me.

I smile, accepting the pancakes with a hum. “Typical morning." I would know. Outside of this place, I shared a three bedroom apartment with Isei, Akuhei, Ai, Yukio and my girlfriend. It was a little crowded sometimes, but living with the five of them was nicer than staying with my folks or in the Hope’s Peak dorms.

"Yeah," Isei replied with a laugh. "I was gonna go wake him up, but I wouldn't hear the end of it from him if I did."

“Akuhei gets so annoyed when anyone wakes him up.” Ai pouts. “We just want him to join us for things!”

“Akuhei never sleeps, Ai.” Yukio snickers. “Of course he’s gonna get annoyed.”

“Well, maybe he should sleep more!” Ai huffs.

“I’ve been saying that for the two years we’ve been dating.” Isei chuckles. “I’ll see if I can get him to rest tonight.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Yukio replies with a chuckle. “Speaking of sleep, how’d that go for you, Ace?”

“Not great.” I admit with a low sigh. “I was up drawing.”

“Till when?” Ai raises an eyebrow.

“... 4AM.” 

“Ace!” Ai pouts, crossing her arms. “That’s only three hours of sleep!” 

“I’ve had a lot less.”

“Uuuugh.” Ai whines. “Just get more rest tonight, please?”

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

The rest of breakfast was fairly normal, just the four of us chattering about anything that came to mind. As it neared eight, we started finishing our food, and soon headed out of the restaurant and towards the meeting spot.

Approaching the lake, we noticed Monokuma already settling on top of his pillar. All of the things I would give to have that stupid thing knocked down… I let out a sigh, looking up at the bear. 

_Why are we here? Isn't there enough happening?_ I think to myself, a frown on my face. 

"Looks like everyone's here!" Monokuma's shit-eating grin is prominent even to the last row of students. "I hope you all had a great morning, because it's just gonna get better!"

"Get on with it!" I heard Satoru shout from the front. "We want to be anywhere but out here!"

"Fine, Mr. Grumpy-Pants." Monokuma is shuffling around his pillar. Fucking weirdo. "I mentioned I had something fun for everyone, did I not? Well, I thought I would give you guys a little push, since nobody has been killed yet, and that's the most fun part about being here! So, I'm gonna give you a reason to kill besides just getting outta here!" He sounds way too happy. 

"Nothing you throw at us will make us kill one another!" Yukio shouts. 

“You shouldn’t be so sure about that!” Monokuma’s grin only seems to grow wider, as if that could happen. “Everyone will be receiving a target on their Monopads. If you manage to kill your target, you’ll be rewarded with one phone call to the outside world. However, you’ll have to make that call in front of everyone, or forfeit it all together!”

As if on cue, everyone’s Monopads started making a noise, prompting us to pull them out. Everyone’s reactions to the name showing up on their screen is different, but Isei’s is the only one I’m able to clearly hear over everyone’s talking. 

“Fuck off! There’s no way in hell I’m killing him!”

“Upupupu! Happy killing, everyone!” Monokuma spent no more time on his pillar, instead disappearing behind it.

As I finally switch my Monopad on, my heart sinks.

 _Your target is_ _Isei Kobayashi._

Hurting Isei for one measly phone call… that’s so preposterous. Who would hurt anyone just for a call in front of everyone? Nobody, that’s who.

… Right?

I shake my head. Nobody's gonna kill anyone. We're fine. It'll be okay. I take a deep breath, turning to Yukio. "Hey… did you still want to explore?"

Yukio thinks for a moment before nodding his head. “Sure! It couldn’t hurt to take a look around!” he chirps. “Where do you want to go?”

“The mall? I wanna see what Monokuma means by talent related shops.” I hum.

“Sounds good! Let’s go.” He offers a hand to me. I put my Monopad away, taking Yukio’s hand and leading him towards the large building nearby.

We walked for no more than five minutes before we were right outside of the entrance to the mall. It looked pretty average, basically like any mall you’d see outside of this place, but with our current situation, it felt… ominous, to say the least. I took a deep breath, leading Yukio inside.

We didn’t take much time looking around, mostly noting the small food court towards the middle of the mall, as well as poking our heads into the newly opened shops; a shop for figure skating equipment, and one for volleyball equipment.

“Ten… Whatever the currency here is called, that Seto will be checking out the mall after dinner.” Yukio said with a grin.

“Twenty says he’ll check it out _before_ dinner,” I reply with a hum.

“Deal!”

After a bit more wandering, we left the mall, heading for the town instead. It was a mostly quiet walk, Yukio focusing on his Monopad and trying to make sense of everything on it. There was no getting him to talk when he was in the zone.

“Yukio, we’re almost in town,” I say as we reached the outskirts, snickering when he fumbled with his Monopad. “You good?”

“You startled me.” Yukio pouts.

“I’ll buy you sweets to make up for it.”

“... Deal.”

“Cool. Wanna do that now, then?” I ask.

“Yeah!” he pauses for a moment. “Did you ever get your card from the bank?”

“... Shit.” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “No, I didn’t. Meet me outside the restaurant in five?"

"Sounds good!"

I left Yukio's side, walking towards the bank. The town was somehow lively, even with only 18 of us living in this hellscape. Everywhere I looked, people were exploring, trying to figure out where all of the shops were, or just trying to get a feel for everything. At least we could all somewhat still live normal lives in this place. 

Entering the bank, I took a quick look around. It sure was a bank alright. Multiple teller windows, a few cubicles off to the left, and a bunch of unnecessary noise. Sighing, I walked up to one of the tellers. 

"Hello, hello!" The teller-Monokuma greeted. "What can I do for you today?"

"Uh… can I get my bank card? Please?"

"Of course! Name?"

"Ace Marin."

With that, the teller-Monokuma left. I heard a bit of commotion coming from the back of the teller's area, but the Monokuma didn't seem phased or injured as he returned. "Here you are! Your current balance is 275 Monocoins. Thank you for stopping by!"

I nodded to the teller before making my way out. That was going to creep me out every time I went to the bank. 

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath. "There won't be anymore trips to the bank. We're gonna get out of here." I mumbled to myself. If I kept saying it, maybe I would start to believe it. 

After a few more breaths, I made my way towards the restaurant, waving to Yukio. "Hey, ready to get some sweets?"

"You know it!" he grinned, taking my hand in his. "There's a convenience store nearby. Wanna check there?"

"Sure," I reply with a hum. "Lead the way."

A short walk had us right outside of the store. I led Yukio in, letting him roam around to find whatever he wanted. I looked around myself, picking up a few packages of noodles, as well as some other snacks that I enjoyed. Once Yukio met back up with me, we headed for the register. 

"You really stocked up, huh?" Yukio teased. 

"Hey, sometimes I have late nights and want a snack." I chuckle, putting everything I grabbed on the counter, waiting for Yukio to do the same. 

Moments later, a Monokuma popped up. "Is this all for today?"

"Yep." I say with a hum.

"That'll be 27 Monocoins."

I offered my card to the bear. A quick swipe of it and it was back in my hand. The Monokuma quickly bagged our items, and we were off.

"How is he everywhere all at once?" Yukio asks as he digs through the bag, pulling out his snacks. "I mean, it's creepy."

"There's probably more than one." I shrug. "... Which is even creepier."

"You played yourself." Yukio snickers. "Hey, do you wanna check out the arcade?"

"Hell yeah. DDR tournament?"

"You know it!"

The arcade was a five minute walk away. As we arrived, we looked around, noting the different games and the amount of credits they took. After some more wandering around, Yukio and I made our way to the front desk, checking out the prices for game cards. 

"Wanna just do the 40 Monocoin one? That's 52 credits on each card, probably more than enough for today." I ask. 

"Sure! Let's do this. I'll be kicking your ass in DDR."

"In your dreams!"

The rest of the arcade trip wasn't super exciting, mainly just Yukio and I screwing around and playing Dance Dance Revolution, which I beat him in. Once we were low on credits, we decided to get back to our original plans for the day. We mainly spent our time exploring, checking out the different shops in town and chatting with anyone we happened to run into. 

Around dinner time, I finally said goodbye to Yukio, quickly grabbing some food to-go from the restaurant before heading back to my apartment. 

"Home," I call out as I shut the door behind me. 

"Hey." Violetta greets, poking her head out of the kitchen. 

"I brought food, if you weren't already making something," I say with a smile, placing the bag on the table. 

"... Thank you," she replies quietly. "I was going to go back into town and get stuff for dinner, but this works out."

"Just thinkin' ahead." I hum. "Would you want to go grocery shopping tomorrow? I can go with and we can figure out lunches and dinners from there."

"Sure, why not." She shrugs, pulling the to-go boxes from the bag and opening them both. She grabbed two plates, motioning for me to sit down. "Anything in particular you want to pick up?"

I take a moment to think on that, putting some food on my plate. "Maybe some steak, if they have it?"

"Sounds good to me."

The rest of dinner was fairly calm. Violetta and I mainly talked about our plans for the next day, as well as little things like shows we enjoyed. After cleaning everything up, we said our goodnights and headed for our rooms.

Sighing, I put my pajamas on, falling on to my bed almost immediately after. Three hours of sleep and a long, eventful day was not a good mix. I look over at the clock. _8:00_. Not my ideal time to sleep, but damn, was I tired. After a bit of fumbling around to set my alarm for the next morning, I close my eyes, letting myself drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am regretting my life choices.
> 
> If you'd ever like to talk about any of my stories, my Tumblr is Focusgauge, or my Toyhou.se is Bloodmooncurse! <3


	3. Chapter 1, Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Murder and investigation time let's go.

Hearing my alarm the next morning felt like the worst thing that could happen. My sleep got interrupted multiple times by weird dreams, most of which I couldn't remember. Groaning, I pull myself to sit up, rubbing my eyes. I look over to my clock, there's still ten minutes to the morning announcement. I take a moment to stretch before pulling myself out of bed, changing into my clothes and slipping on my shoes before heading out to the bathroom.

I brush my teeth before dealing with the rats nest in my hair, sighing as I look in the mirror. I look as exhausted as I feel. I turn on the faucet, splashing a bit of water on my face. That usually helped back home. After drying my face, I made my way downstairs. 

"Good morning." I hear from the couch. Violetta waves to me before turning back to the television. 

"Morning," I reply, taking a seat next to her. "Bob Ross again?"

"Yeah. Calming show in this time of crisis.” she shrugs. “Are you heading to breakfast?”

“After morning announcements, yeah,” I smile. “Do you want to join me?”

“... Sure, why not?” Violetta says with a hum. “Are you going to the restaurant?”

“Nah, I kind of want to check out the food court, if that sounds good to you?”

She gives me a nod. “Sure.”

I smile. “Hell yeah.” I pull myself off of the couch. “I’m gonna grab my sketchbook real quick, we can head out after the announcements.” I wait for Violetta to say something in response before heading back up to my room. 

I take almost no time grabbing my sketchbook and a few pencils before I’m back in the living room with Violetta, settling on the couch once again. As soon as I'm settled, the television goes from Bob Ross to a totally different channel. On the screen stands Monokuma, holding a wine glass with a drink in it. He looks to be right outside of the apartments. He taps a microphone in front of him before clearing his throat.

_"Gooooood morning, everyone! The time is now 7 AM and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Breakfast is being served at the restaurant, and all the shops in town are now open! That's all, happy killing! Upupupu!"_

Violetta rolls her eyes as she switches the television off, getting up from the couch moments after. "Shall we?"

I give a nod, jumping to my feet; I grab my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. "We shall." 

The walk to the mall isn't long, about five minutes at most. Violetta and I mostly kept quiet, but it was a comfortable kind of quiet that I usually had with Isei or Yukio. 

As we arrived, two things were apparent: the smell of… something, was strong, and the sound of sobbing from one of the shops was damn near impossible to miss. I look over at Violetta. "... Should we check it out?"

Violetta bit her thumb, considering her options. "... Probably." she finally said a few moments later. 

I nod, walking with her to the figure skating shop. There were two people there -- Isei and Akuhei. Isei is on his knees, soft sobs escaping his lips as he cries. That was never a good sign, Isei wasn’t much of a crier. Akuhei is down next to him, trying his hardest to provide comfort. I frown. "Guys? What's going on?"

Akuhei can do nothing more than tilt his head in front of him and Isei. Whatever I had been expecting was not what I saw. As I stepped to the side, I could finally see exactly what the two of them were staring at. 

_Ding, dong, bing, bong._

_"A body has been discovered! In just a few minutes, a Monokuma File containing everything important about the death will become available on your Monopads! After a certain amount of time, which you can use however you like, a class trial will begin!"_

It was my turn to fall to my knees. The room is spinning, and I feel sick to my stomach. This isn't real. There's no dead body in front of me. This is just a bad dream. If I pinch myself, this will all be over. I'll be back at Hope's Peak.

I give myself a hard pinch to the skin between my thumb and my index finger before once again opening my eyes, my face falling as there was no change of scenery. It wasn't a joke. None of this was a joke anymore. 

Yukio Watanabe is dead.

“W… who did this?” I ask, my voice weak.

“We don’t know,” Akuhei replies, looking down. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him blinking back tears. “But… The trial that bear mentioned…”

“... We should look for anything related to the murder.” Violetta said sternly. I turned my head to look at her. She was so… calm. 

“How… how can you be so calm?! Someone just died!” I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but... 

“I’m an assassin. I told you that yesterday.” she said with a soft huff. “Look. If there’s gonna be a trial, we need evidence, right?”

“... Yeah.” Isei finally spoke up, wiping the tears from his eyes. He took a deep breath, pulling himself up from the floor with the help of Akuhei. He offered a hand to me, pulling me up as well. “Okay, this… this is gonna be fine.” he declared. “Should we split up and look around?”

Violetta shook her head. “We don’t know who did this. Even if we’re in pairs, the killer could - not saying it is - could be one of us four. We shouldn’t put anyone else in danger.” she tapped her chin. “Ace, where should we start?”

I blink. “Why are you asking me?”

“Because I think we can trust you to hold on to the evidence, if it comes to that.” Violetta shrugs. “So?”

I take a moment to think. I don’t want to investigate, one of my best friends just died, for God’s sake. But… if I could be part of the reason that his killer is found… “Let’s start by looking at that file Monokuma was talking about.”

Violetta nods, pulling out her Monopad, holding it so the three of us could read the information on the screen.

_Monokuma File 01:_

_Victim: Yukio Watanabe_

_Time of Death: 3:47 AM_

_Place of Death: Figure Skating Shop_

_Cause of death: Slit to neck._

I grimace as I read the four lines of text, gritting my teeth. “That’s fucked up…” I mutter.

“So… what we know is how he died, and when he died. Do you think there’s any security cameras around here? I could grab my laptop and hack into-”

“Nope!” Monokuma jumps out from… somewhere, cutting Isei off and startling all of us. “There’s no way of hacking the cameras around here! Even if there was, that’s against the rules!”

“Jesus, don’t do that.” Violetta grumbles, putting her Monopad away. “It’s fine. We can figure this out another way…” she sighs, waiting for Monokuma to disappear once again before turning to me. “Well… since that’s out of the question, where should we look?”

I tap my chin, my face going pale as I realized the best place to start. “... here, in this shop.” I say, my voice weak. “I’ll check out ‘Kio’s body, if you guys wanna look around for other clues?”

The three of them nod, starting to look around the figure skating shop. I take a deep breath before squatting down by Yukio’s body, the nausea returning as soon as I look at his ghostly pale face. “I’m gonna find who did this to you, buddy…” I promise under my breath. I take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm my stomach before finally examining his body and the area around it.

Just as the Monokuma File said, there’s a large slit on his neck -- right on the jugular vein. There’s dried blood on his neck, as well as on the floor near his head. “Gross…” I mutter, trying to avert my attention from it. As I do, my eyes fall on an object nearby.

 _An ice skate?_ I raise an eyebrow, looking at it more closely. The blade is covered in blood… was this what was used to kill Yukio? It has to be…

Sighing, I do a once over on Yukio’s body, just to make sure I haven’t missed anything. When my eyes reach his left hand, I can’t help but notice that something’s… off. His fingers are curled around something. As I take a closer look, I have to do a double-take. It’s a knife. Why would he be holding a knife? 

“Ace!” I hear Violetta call from closer to the back of the store. “Can you come here?”

“Where’s here?” I call back.

“First-aid supplies section,” Isei calls this time. 

I sigh, doing another once over of Yukio’s body before pulling myself up from my squatting position. Making my way to the back of the store, I see Akuhei, Violetta, and Isei looking at two of the shelves. “What did you guys find?”

Violetta beckoned me over. “There’s a missing roll of ace bandage… I don’t know if it’s important, but should we keep a note of it?” she asked.

“I think so. Anything and everything is suspicious…” I said.

Violetta nodded. “Alright… and then Isei found this,” she took me over to the other shelf. 

I sidle up to Isei. My eyes widen as they fall on a button up shirt on the back of the shelf. “Holy shit, that’s a lot of blood.”

“Yeah, but it’s all in one area,” Isei points out, pulling the shirt forward. “See? It looks like maybe it was used as a tourniquet, then the killer grabbed the roll of ace bandage instead and wrapped it properly.”

I tap my chin. “Should we see if we can find the bandage, maybe?”

“The killer might have thrown it out,” Akuhei replied.

“True…” Violetta sighs deeply. “Should we look for clues elsewhere?”

I nod, taking a moment to think of where to look. “Wanna check everyone’s apartments?”

Isei nods. “Let’s check Yukio’s first. There might be something that could tell us why he was even out here in the first place.”

The rest of us agree with Isei’s decision, quickly making our way to Yukio’s apartment. I give a knock as we arrive, hearing a shaky, “come in,” from inside. As I open the door, I see Ai, curled up on the couch, tears streaming down her face. Isei pushes past me with a quiet apology before rushing to his sister’s side with open arms. “You found out, didn’t you?” he asks softly.

Ai nods, hugging Isei tightly. “He… he can’t… he’s not really dead, is he?”

Akuhei and I slowly approach the couch, Violetta staying behind us. “I’m sorry, Ai…” I say softly. 

Ai lets out a sob as Isei holds her a bit tighter. “You guys check around… I’m gonna stay with Ai,” he says quietly.

I nod, standing up; Ai stops me by touching my hand. I look back at her. “Yeah?”

“C-Check his Monopad. It’s…” she takes a deep breath, “It’s in his room.”

I hum softly. “I will, thanks, Ai.” I turn to Violetta and Akuhei. “You two comin’ up with me?”

Violetta nods. “I will.”

“I’m gonna stay down here. Tell me what you find?” Akuhei requests.

“Sure thing,” I reply, forcing a smile. I lead Violetta upstairs and to Yukio’s room, looking for his Monopad. 

“Here it is.” Violetta says after a moment of looking around, fishing it out of the drawer of the end table. She switches it on, her eyes going wide. “Ace!”

“What-”

“Look!” she practically shoved the Monopad at me. 

I look down at the screen, a gasp escaping my lips.

 _Your target is_ _Akuhei Takahashi._

“So… was he out there to kill Akuhei?” I ask.

“I… maybe?” Violetta looks just as lost as me. “... keep the Monopad. We might need it.”

I nod, putting the Monopad in my pocket. “Okay, this is… what the fuck.” I mumble. “We should check Akuhei’s room, just in case.”

Violetta nods. “Let’s go.”

She leads me back downstairs. “Hey, did you guys find anything on the Monopad?” Isei asks.

I shake my head. “Nothing important, at least.” 

The look Ai gives me is one of hurt. _Why are you lying?_ she signs shakily. 

I can see Isei’s face fall. _You’re lying?_ he signs.

 _I need to check something before anything else._ I sign, sighing as a frown appears on Ai’s face. _I promise I’ll show Isei when I’m sure of something._

_Fine._

I take a deep breath before speaking again. “We’re gonna go check the other apartments. We’ll be back.”

“Alright,” Akuhei replies. “We’ll be here.”

I nod, quickly being ushered out of the apartment by Ai. As soon as the door closes and we’re walking, she speaks up. “... he knows we’re lying?”

I sigh deeply. “He knows.” I mutter. “... Wait, you know sign language?”

Violetta nods. “I… partially lost my hearing because of my line of work. Guns aren’t the most kind to eardrums.” she sighs deeply. “I know ASL and JSL, for future reference if you ever need to know that.”

“I know ASL better, but I’m learning JSL.” I say as we approach Akuhei’s apartment. “Okay, we can discuss this later, for now…” I knock on the door, frowning when I heard no voice. I was hoping his roommate might be around so this didn’t feel illegal. “Should we just go in?”

“We have to,” Violetta replies quickly, opening the door slowly. As soon as we’re both in the apartment and the door is closed, we rush up to Akuhei’s room. After a few minutes of searching, I notice a crumpled paper in the trash can, picking it up. 

_"Hey Aku! Can you meet me at the figure skating shop at 3:30? I wanna talk to you but it's super private. Thank you! -Yuki"_

My face falls. This is Yukio’s handwriting… “Violetta,” I call, offering her the note. “This… this is huge.”

She takes the note, her eyes widening. “We… still can’t be 100% sure it was him, but… Akuhei looks like our prime suspect.” 

Hearing that makes my heart break. “It has to have been someone else… Akuhei wouldn’t do this.”

“Ace…”

I look down. “... the problem is that it matches up with Yukio’s target. What if he killed in self-defense?”

“If he even went.” Violetta reminds.

“Right...” I sigh. “Should we go ta-”

_“I’m getting so tired of waiting! How about we just get this started? It’s time for the long-awaited class trial! Please take the train on the far east end of town to the fourth area of our lovely oasis! Upupupu, see you soon!”_

“We don’t have time to talk to him.” Violetta mutters. “We can figure this out with everyone else.” she takes a deep breath, handing the note back to me. “Let’s go.”

I nod, trying to shake the thought that Akuhei of all people could have done this. I lead Violetta out of the apartment. I’m going to find Yukio’s killer. I have to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd ever like to talk about any of my stories, my Tumblr is Focusgauge, or my Toyhou.se is Bloodmooncurse! <3


	4. Chapter 1: Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's trial time
> 
> I'm sorry

Violetta and I arrive at the train station no more than 15 minutes after the announcement, a sigh of relief escaping my lips as I realize we aren’t the very last people there. I quickly counted everyone, noticing that there were three people still missing -- Amaya, Suzume and-

Yukio. I can’t help but feel nauseated again, thinking back to the sight of Yukio’s ghostly pale face as he lay dead in the figure skating shop. Would his body still be there later that day? All I could do is hope it wouldn’t be, and that Yukio would be free to rest peacefully…

"Ace?" Isei prompted quietly. "Hey, you good? You're spacing."

"... Just a lot to think about…" I mumble. "How is Ai doing?"

"Better. She's with Akuhei right now," he replies, lowering his voice. "But… Ace, what did you find?"

My breath hitches. "... Promise me you won't do anything irrational?"

"Wh- Ace, of course I won't." Isei promises softly. "I promised you that years ago." 

I take a deep breath. "... I think Yukio tried to kill Akuhei, and Akuhei fought back. Akuhei was Yukio's target." 

Isei's eyes widen. "That… there's gotta be a mistake."

"I know. That's why I'm gonna clear his name and find Yukio's real killer." 

"... You sound like a protagonist."

"I've been called that  _ and _ a Disney prince."

"Both track." Isei jokes. "Now-"

He's cut off by someone approaching the platform. "Sorry! Sorry we're late," it's Suzume, with Amaya right at her side. "We were investigating." she sounds completely out of breath. 

"You're fine, but… shall we get on the train now?" Asai asks over the noise of the crowd. “I don’t think any of us want to know what happens if we don’t show up to the trial, or if we’re super late…”

Amaya nods. “Let’s go… and apologies again for holding everyone up.” she says.

We all board the train, many of the others scattering to check it out. I choose to stick near the front with Isei and Nii. I fished Yukio’s tablet out of my pocket, turning it on again. The screen was still there. I felt a chill run down my spine as I read who Yukio's target was once again, biting my lower lip. "Please for the love of God don't be his killer…" I mumble to myself.

"Ace?" Nii calls quietly. I can hear a vague stream of noise that could possibly be words coming from her, but they didn't register in my brain. She let out a sigh, tapping my shoulder when I didn't respond, causing me to jump. 

"Sorry! What did you say?" I ask quickly. 

"Are you doing okay? I… know you and Yukio were close."

I look down, sighing softly. "Once… once we find his killer, I'll be able to breathe a bit easier." I admit softly. "I just want to make sure the rest of us are safe."

Nii nods, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving me a small, reassuring smile. "We'll all help you find who killed him. You've got my word there."

"Thanks, Nii," I reply with a smile of my own, frowning as I notice Isei furrowing his brow out of the corner of my eye. "Isei?"

"I… Ace what if he  _ did _ do it?" 

Nii raised an eyebrow. "Do you guys have a suspect in mind?"

I sigh. "We do, but… I wanna keep it a secret for now. I'm already jumping to conclusions."

Nii gives a nod, patting my shoulder. "We'll get it figured out. We're a class of Ultimates, after all! We've got at least 17 working braincells between all of us. We can do this."

I let out a soft laugh. "Thank you, Nii."

"For sure! Now, I'm gonna go find Kita. See you guys in a few!" 

As soon as Nii runs off, I lean against Isei with a loud sigh. 

"Yeah, felt that." he sighs, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "Let's clear my boyfriend's name and find Yukio's killer, yeah?"

"Yeah."

The rest of the train ride is mostly calm, mainly just Isei and I trying to distract ourselves by talking about everything under the sun. As the train pulled to a stop, Isei takes his arm off of me, standing up straight. He looks so much more serious than usual… it's scary, in a way. The only other time I've seen him get this serious was when he testified against my parents in court a few years ago… 

I sigh, shaking my head. "You look so serious."

"It's court," Isei reminds me. "If you goof off, the culprit might get away."

"That's good logic if I've ever heard it!" Ai said as she approached us with Akuhei. "Are you guys ready for this?"

"Absolutely not." I huff. "But… we've gotta do this."

"We'll be okay." Akuhei promises, looking up as the doors to the train open. "C'mon, we're gonna find the killer."

Everyone made their way off of the train, looking around for where to go. After a moment, I noticed a sign pointing left. "Oh, it looks like we go to…" I look to my left, seeing a court-like building in the near distance. "That building."

There isn't much talking as we head for the large building. All of us are on edge, and with good reason. This isn't a joke anymore. Someone among us committed a murder, and now it was time to figure out who did it.

Pushing open the doors to the building, both Akuhei and I are hit by the freezing air coming from inside. "Sheesh, is the air conditioning being up this high really necessary?" I mutter. 

Stepping inside, I'm surprised to see that it's just a large room with podiums set up in the middle of it, as well as a large chair in the back of the room. I approach the podiums, taking a look at the names neatly engraved on them. I walk around until I finally find mine, sighing deeply as I step up to it. I look around at everyone else, my face going pale as I see exactly what's at Yukio's podium. A sign with his face scratched out by a large, red "X" is where Yukio himself should be standing. This is such a sick, sick place.

I don't get a lot of time to continue thinking that, though. As soon as everyone is at their podiums, Monokuma speaks up. "Let's start this with a simple explanation! Your votes determine the trial's whoooole outcome! If you find out who the real blackened is and vote for them, and only they get executed! But if you make the wrong choice… then everyone  _ but _ the blackened gets executed, and is free to graduate!"

"E-Executed?!" I ask, horrified. 

"Someone didn't read the rules!" Monokuma huffs. 

"He passed out when you went over them!" Nii shouts out. "Give him a break, he can read ‘em later." 

"Whatever!" Monokuma snaps. "Get to it, find the killer!"

"Where should we start?" Seto asks.

"Perhaps with the murder weapon?" Kisaragi suggests. 

"It was an ice skate." Amaya says in a matter-of-fact tone. "To his carotid artery."

"The forensic scientist comes through," Suzume teases. "So… is that an instant death, or was it blood loss?"

"Nearly instant," Amaya replies. "He would have been alive for two to four minutes at most after the original slit."

"What was the time of death, again?" Kita asks.

"3:47 AM," Satoru replies. "So… he could have been attacked between 3:43 and 3:45, right?"

Nii taps her chin, her eyes lighting up as she thinks of something. "Is there any sort of surveillance footage that we could see for around that time?" 

"There is, but that's classified, too easy!" Monokuma grins. 

"So much for that…" Nii mutters. 

As I'm trying to wrap my brain around everything, trying to figure out what I could say that wouldn't immediately condem Akuhei, I notice Violetta looking right at me.  _ Tell them about the note and the Monopad.  _ she signs. 

I deflate. Clearing Akuhei's name is not going to be easy after this. "Um… I have something that might help figure out who was with Yukio." I say. 

"What is it?" Aika asks, tilting her head. 

"Violetta, can you pass around the note?" I ask, waiting for her to do so before continuing to talk. "We found this in Akuhei's room just before the announcement to come here…"

"What?" Akuhei blinks. "Let me see that." 

As the note reaches him, his eyes go wide. "I've never seen this…"

My eyes light up as I hear that. Someone could have set him up! 

"Are you sure?" Violetta asks. "We've got something else that might say otherwise."

Right. The Monopad. I pull Yukio's out of my pocket. "Ai, you found it… do you wanna explain?"

Ai looks down. "Um… that's Yukio's Monopad, you can tell by the welcome screen."

I turn on the Monopad, showing everyone else that Yukio's name is the one that pops up on the screen before I turn it back towards me so I can open the target message. 

Ai deflates. "After the body discovery announcement, I went to Yukio's room to make sure he was okay… I didn't see him, but his Monopad was unlocked and open on his target page, so I decided to take a look."

I turn the Monopad back around, showing that Yukio's target was Akuhei, feeling my heart sink. The more that I thought about this, and now with both pieces of evidence in front of me… it made me feel sick. 

"That handwriting on the note is Yukio's, too," Isei points out. 

Amaya turns to Monokuma. "Do you have any other writing obviously done by the victim?" 

Monokuma shuffles around his chair, pulling out a notebook and tossing it to Amaya. My eyes widen as I realize what exactly it is. 

"That's-"

I'm cut off by Monokuma. "It's Yukio's precious gaming journal!"

"There's private stuff in there," Akuhei glares at the bear. "Amaya. Please don't go far into the book. Yukio has a lot more than "gaming" things in there."

Amaya nods in response. "May I see the note?" Once it's in her hands, she's silent for a few minutes. We all watch as she examines the notebook and the paper. She finally speaks up again after a few minutes. "They're identical."

Koga turns to look at Akuhei. “Are you  _ sure _ you’ve never seen this note?”

“... It was folded up on my desk. I assumed it was nothing, so I threw it out.” Akuhei says with a shrug.

Amaya raises her eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t you at least look at it? That seems… off.”

“I thought it was something put there by the bear.” 

“Fair…” Okada mumbles. “We’re back to square one, but… Akuhei should be our main suspect for now.”

“I agree.” Amaya says, crossing her arms. “Is there anything else that was found? Suzume and I were only able to look around the apartments before the announcement to come to the train station.”

I think back to the crime scene, something clicking in my brain. “Yukio was holding a knife.”

“I saw that too.” Seto says. “When I took a closer look, the blade was covered in blood…”

“It was?” I ask, only to receive a nod from Seto.

“So… say we assume Akuhei  _ did  _ read Yukio’s note and met up with him,” Seto starts. “Perhaps the two of them were talking, and Akuhei let his guard down. Yukio chose to strike, stabbing Akuhei. That would explain the bloody knife.”

“And it might explain the murder weapon!” Aika gasps. “Aika thinks that Akuhei went for the nearest thing that could kill someone!” 

“What if the skates were dull, though?” Ichika asks. “The killer could have planted the knife in Yukio’s hand.”

“I’ve checked out the skates in the shop already. They’re sharp, which was a shock to me. Usually you need to get new skates sharpened, but the second you take off the skate guard of the skates here, the blade is as sharp as they can be.” Seto hums. “Plus, the skate did have blood on it. I don’t think the killer would take time to fake a murder weapon.”

“Well....” Violetta speaks up. “Isei and I found some more things in the shop that could suggest that someone may have been trying to stop themselves from bleeding.”

Isei nods. “On one of the shelves in the back, there was a bloody shirt.”

“Wasn’t all of the blood in one place?” I ask, thinking back to when Isei showed me the shirt.

Isei nods once again. Amaya speaks up next. “So… applying pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.” she taps her chin. “Are you sure there was no more blood besides in the one area?”

“I think it was just the one area,” Isei replies.

“Monokuma,” Amaya prompts. “Do you have the shirt?”

Monokuma shuffles around on his chair again, holding up the shirt for all of us to see.

We all examine the shirt. Sure enough, there’s a large blood stain on it, but… “Is that blood up by the right shoulder?” Ichika asks.

“It looks like it.” Suzume looks pale as she speaks, looking straight down at the ground. 

“Well…” Violetta speaks up again. “I ended up finding that a roll of ace bandage was missing from the first-aid section of the shop. That coupled with the blood stain near the shoulder… the killer may have tried to bandage up their wound so that they wouldn’t bleed to death, and possibly so there wouldn’t be blood on whatever they changed into.”

“But just some ace bandages wouldn’t do anything!” Nii says. “You’d need some kinda gauze or somethin’ to keep it from leaking onto your clothing.”

“Did anyone look at any other shelves in the store?” I ask.

“I did!” Ichika grins. “Just so happens that a box of gauze pads was missing.”

Kita gasps. “Wait, wait, wait!” she says quickly. “After the body discovery announcement I did a thorough check of a few apartments… I found a roll of ace bandage, obviously cut, and a box of gauze pads...”

I turn to look at Akuhei, noticing panic on his face. “... Akuhei, can… can we see your shoulder?”

“Wh- no!” he nearly shouts. “I didn’t kill him, someone’s framing me!”

“We’ll only know if you’re telling the truth if you show us your shoulder.” Koga says sternly. 

“I don’t  _ need  _ to show you guys anything!” 

Ai grits her teeth, gripping her podium tightly. “Show us your shoulder.  _ Now. _ ” she looks up at Akuhei, glaring daggers at him. “Feign innocence all you want, but I won’t hesitate to vote for you if you don’t show us your shoulder. If you’re not Yukio’s killer, great, if you are, we need to vote for you, or else we’re fucked. You’ll kill 16 other people. You’ll have a body count of 17 on your hands. You’ll get to run free, but that guilt will stick around.” 

Akuhei’s facade fell as those words left Ai’s mouth. His eyes fill with guilt and regret as he unbuttons his overshirt, shrugging it off of him. He takes a deep breath as he rolls up the right sleeve of his undershirt, being met with loud gasps from the rest of us. 

Isei’s eyes fill with tears as he looks at Akuhei’s shoulder. “Why? Why would you kill him?” he asks. 

“... he was going to kill me. I had to defend myself,” Akuhei replies, rolling his sleeve back down. “I… After a while, I let my guard down. We were just talking about ways to protect everyone from this motive. Then… then he shoved me against the wall near the entrance and pulled out a knife he hid in his pocket. He had this guilty look on his face… I asked him why he was doing this, and he said he wanted to help everyone out of here. He stabbed my shoulder as a way to show me this wasn’t a fucking joke -- he was going to  _ kill me _ . Out of fear, I grabbed the display skate and… and I killed him before he could go any further with his plan.”

I look down at the ground, gripping the podium tightly. “So… you got a note from Yukio, thought you might be able to trust him because it’s Yukio; you lived with him outside of this place after all, and went to meet up with him,” I start. “After he had you feeling comfortable, he decided it was his time to strike… to go through with the motive. He stabbed you; you freaked out, grabbed the nearest thing to defend yourself with -- a skate, and killed Yukio in self-defense. Once that was done, you realized you had to take care of your shoulder, so you removed your overshirt and used it to slow the bleeding, then went to the first-aid section and stole gauze and a roll of ace bandage, then left the shirt... and went straight back to your apartment, haphazardly throwing away the note, and trying to hide the items you stole from the shop by tossing them under your bed… is that right, Akuhei?”

Akuhei looks down, nodding with a deep sigh. “I was stupid to trust that Yukio wouldn’t kill me, but… I thought it was okay to meet up with him. It was  _ Yukio _ , for fuck’s sake! I thought he wouldn’t hurt a fly!” 

“Looks like you’ve got the killer pinned! Let’s get to voting! Now then, use the tablet on your podum to make your selection! Who will be chosen as the blackened?” Monokuma grins.

I look down at the screen, biting my lower lip as I tap on the photo of Akuhei displayed on the screen. 

_ Is  _ _ Akuhei Takahashi _ _ who you wish to vote for? _

I tap the yes button as it appears. 

“... I understand self-defense, but… I still can’t forgive this; especially not after you tried to act innocent and  _ comforted  _ Isei and I after what you did.” Ai says softly, tears escaping her eyes. “... good luck, Akuhei, and thank you for everything you’ve done for me and my brother.” I watch as she presses the yes button on her tablet.

Everyone starts locking in their answers, many of them staying silent and looking anywhere but at Akuhei. The only person who hasn’t chosen anyone by the time everyone else has voted is Isei. “Please, no… there has to be something we missed! Akuhei, please-”

“Isei,” Akuhei cuts him off, a sad smile on his face. “I’m sorry… we had so many plans for the future, I know, but… you can’t put everyone else in danger.” tears threaten to fall from his eyes. “I did it. I can’t change that now.”

Isei lets out a sob. “Akuhei, please! I know you wouldn’t kill anyone!”

“I did, though.” Akuhei wipes at the tears that fall from his eyes. “Isei… please, I need you to vote for me. Everyone in this room deserves a chance to try and get out of here, and the only way to do that is to kill only the blackened…”

Isei lets his own tears fall. “... I love you, Akuhei.” he says quietly as he selects his vote, locking it in. “I wish you the best.”

Akuhei can’t seem to speak as he hears both sentences. After a moment of trying to organize his thoughts, he finds his voice, although it comes out very weakly. “I love you too, Isei…”

“Looks like everyone’s voted! Let’s see the results!”

On our screens, a results screen pops up, showing all of us the total votes, all of them being under Akuhei’s name. “Who’ll be exposed as the blackened? Did you make the right choice, or are you oh so very wrong?” 

Above Monokuma’s chair, a monitor comes down. A roulette wheel with everyone’s faces pops up moments later. As soon as Monokuma presses a button, the wheel begins to spin, soon landing on Akuhei’s face. “Congratulations! The blackened, who in this case killed Yukio Watanabe, is none other than Akuhei Takahashi!”

Akuhei has a sad smile on his face as Monokuma speaks. “You got it…”

“But- it was self-defense! Akuhei-” 

Kita is cut off by Monokuma. “Self-defense or not, Akuhei is still the one who killed Yukio Watanabe!” he grins. “Now then, I have a very, very special punishment prepared for Akuhei Takahashi, the Ultimate Casino Owner!”

“No, no, no! Wait-” Isei shouts, only to be cut off.

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiiiiiit’s… PUNISHMENT TIME!” A bright red button appears in front of Monokuma, and he swings a gavel down to hit it.

Another Monokuma drags him off, the monitor that previously displayed the roulette wheel changing to show the execution room.

[TRIGGER WARNINGS; please skip over this next line to avoid spoilers for the execution, but if you’d like to be warned of what’s in this execution, please read it!]

_ Being crushed to death. _

_ THE ULTIMATE CASINO OWNERS LAST JACKPOT _

_ Akuhei is pulled off from the courthouse and brought to a remake of his own casino. Everything seems normal for the most part from the outside. However, the inside is a totally different story. Everywhere Akuhei looks, there’s Monokuma’s. The bartenders, the dealers, and even the customers were replaced by Monokuma’s.  _

_ Akuhei approaches one of the roulette tables, sitting on one of the stools. There’s a little sign up by the dealer. “Win to escape! 500 points to win!” it reads. Okay. That’s easy enough, Akuhei has played these games since his father first became a casino owner. He could do this. _

_ The first couple of games are simple. Roulette? Piece of cake. Blackjack? He could do this with his eyes closed. Poker? Child’s play. Every game he beat got him more points on a board in the center of the casino. As he approached the slots, he looked up at the board. 495 points. Just one slot could get him exactly what he needed to escape death. _

_ He approaches a large machine in the middle of the casino, taking a deep breath as he places a coin in the coin slot. He pulls the lever, holding his breath as the pictures zoomed past, only letting himself breathe again as the three pictures lined up -- three sevens. Akuhei’s eyes lit up as he watched the number on the board change to 500. He did it! He won!  _

_ “We have a winner!” he hears over the loudspeakers. He did it! He actually- wait, what was that noise? _

_ Akuhei turns back to the large slot machine, his eyes filling with fear as coins start pouring out. They vary in size, only continuing to get larger. Akuhei tries to run, but he doesn’t get very far before he’s buried by coins. One more coin leaves the machine, falling right on top of the pile Akuhei is already buried beneath.  _

_ Akuhei Takahashi, the Ultimate Casino Owner, is dead. _

As soon as the execution ends, the screen fades to black. I pull my eyes away from the monitor, gripping my podium so I wouldn’t fall over.

He’s… He’s dead.

Every time I blink, all I can see is the final moments of Akuhei’s execution. This couldn’t be real. 

“Ace,” Violetta prompts. “We’re heading to the train, c’mon…”

I slowly pull myself away from the podium, finally letting whatever tears I had been holding back since this morning fall as I walk with the rest of my classmates to the train station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I regret my life choices! 
> 
> If you'd ever like to talk about any of my stories, my Tumblr is Focusgauge, or my Toyhou.se is Bloodmooncurse! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Heehoo, I already regret my choices everyone.
> 
> If you'd ever like to talk about any of my stories, my Tumblr is Focusgauge, or my Toyhou.se is Bloodmooncurse! <3


End file.
